The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
The common wooden and plastic industrial pallets are generally known in the art. Such pallets, however, have several shortcomings in regard to cost, quality, limitations of their use, and ease of manufacture. Wooden pallets are typically constructed by sandwiching wooden block members between two similar decks or surfaces. Since the aesthetic appearance of pallets may not outweigh the cost, they may often include scrap or recycled wood. The surfaces may be made of a continuous sheet or, more commonly, have a plurality of wooden boards typically arranged in a parallel manner. Generally, the surfaces and blocks are stacked or arranged to provide apertures suitable for access by the tines of a forklift truck or pallet jack from at least one side. In certain instances, the tines of a fork-lift truck make contact with the lead boards of the decks and/or block members during alignment. If the force is significant, the lead boards and/or block members can be damaged.
By its nature, ordinary wood may be subject to swelling, warping, shrinkage, splintering, deterioration, and fungal or bacterial growth after exposure to moisture and other elements. Pallets assembled with inferior quality wood blocks and/or boards may lead to potential cargo damage.
Attempts to overcome the drawbacks of ordinary wooden pallets with plastic pallets have been faced with similar shortcomings. Prior designs of plastic pallets have had to deal with issues such as the trade off between cost and weight bearing capability. Typically, plastic pallets designed with a significant weight bearing capability have tended to be both heavy and expensive. In the same manner, inexpensive plastic pallets have had both strength and durability issues.
In recent times, society has expended significant efforts on continuing the development of more environmentally-friendly methods for reusing various synthetic and plastic materials. It is therefore desirable to provide a long-life pallet at least partially derived from recycled components and having outstanding physical attributes that is relatively inexpensive and can be manufactured with relative ease. Specifically, it is desirable to provide a low cost pallet that meets and exceeds stringent strength and design standards such that any damage from fork lift tines can be minimized or prevented.